Catalogue of the 2017 Architecture Awards

Available
Order: info@heliarch.gr
ISBN: 978-618-83352-0-2
Pages: 128
Dimensions: 24×30 cm

INTRODUCTION

The Architecture Awards were established for the first time in Greece in 2000 by the Hellenic Institute of Architecture and concern completed architectural projects that are exemplary in terms of their design and implementation. Since then, the Architecture Awards, which are granted every four years, have evolved into an institution that has earned recognition from the architectural community of our country. This is evidenced both by the consistently renewed number of submissions, even during the ongoing period of crisis, and by the quality of the projects submitted.

A particularly important aspect of the awards, which adds distinct prestige to the Architecture Awards and sets them apart from similar events, is the selection process, which, unlike common practices, is based on on-site visits to the projects. Since the awards are given to buildings, the members of the judging committee visit the projects and discuss with users and architects in order to form a comprehensive opinion of them. To ensure the integrity of the process and to safeguard the credibility of the evaluation, the selection is carried out in two phases, distinctions and awards/honorable mentions, by recognized architects, with the participation of previous award winners and members of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture (HIA).

Over the 17 years of the Architecture Awards institution, certain dominant trends have emerged, such as the wider geographic spread of submissions across Greece, beyond Athens and the Attica region. This reflects both the reduced opportunities for new projects in the capital and the growing activation of regional centers, largely driven by faculty and graduates of the architecture schools established across Greece since 1999.

A recurring theme among the submissions is the inverse relationship between private and public projects: private works significantly outnumber public ones. The high quality of private residences (including urban apartment buildings, with new proposals in areas of diverse socio-economic character) stands in stark contrast to public or communal-use projects, whose implementation often fails to align with the architects’ original designs. The chronic lack of significant public works once again leads to the disheartening conclusion that there is a lack of interest in the public realm in our country when, in fact, priority should be given to the creation of high-quality projects that reflect our collective ethos.

In the 2017 Architecture Awards, a new project category was introduced: Renovation and Reuse of Existing Building Shells, in response to this contemporary and increasingly prevalent condition. Out of 92 total submissions, 44 were Renovation projects, 29 were Residences, and 19 were Public and Communal Use Buildings.

In the Residential category, the award was granted to the exceptional apartment building by Nikos Ktenas.

Due to their high construction quality and architectural refinement, four honorable mentions were also awarded to projects that offer very diverse approaches to inhabiting urban and rural spaces: the apartment building by AREA, and the single-family homes by Zissis Kotionis, TENSE Architecture, and VOIS Architects.

In the Renovation category, which had the highest number of submissions, three honorable mentions were awarded to projects of varying scale and complexity: the hotel by 3SK Stylianidis Architects, the office space by Giorgos Aggelis and Katerina Daskalaki, and the apartment by Fotis Zapantiotis.

For the reasons previously mentioned, and as thoroughly explained in the jury’s report, no award was given in the category of Public and Communal Use Buildings. Despite several distinctions, this outcome highlights the inherent issues in the processes of design, supervision, and construction of public-use buildings in Greece, as well as the challenges of executing such projects with limited budgets and without sufficient architectural oversight. As early as 2000, the then-president of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture, Professor Nikos Kalogeras, had pointed out that if the primary purpose of an award is the recognition of the quality of an achievement meaning “a reward not only for the result but also for the efforts of all those who contributed to its realization” then in public projects, “where the opinion, participation, and evaluation of the user are entirely absent and replaced by bureaucratic procedures or even indifference, the outcome is often of mediocre quality.”

Overall, the 2017 Architecture Awards represent an unexpectedly positive surprise amid the ongoing downturn in construction activity. Through the abundance of noteworthy completed projects, the architectural potential of Greece is revealed driven by a persistent and painstaking creative spirit. We believe that the entire process of the Hellenic Institute of Architecture (HIA) Awards offers a unique opportunity to foster dialogue about the direction of contemporary Greek architecture. This dialogue can and should contribute to integrating Greek architectural discourse into the international architectural scene. Thanks are primarily due to the members of the jury: Tasos Kotsiopoulos, Stavros Gyftopoulos, and Alexandros Zomas, members of the HIA Board, as well as the award-winning architects of 2013 Sofia Tsiraki, Alexandros Vaitsos (DecaArchitecture), Stefan Buerger (Buerger Katsota Architects), and Iro Bertaki (blp architects) for their excellent collaboration and the seriousness with which they approached the institution of the Awards, devoting significant time and effort. Special thanks are owed for the flawless organization of the event to the tireless Director of HIA, Dr. Marianna Milioni, Ioanna Kostika for designing the outstanding catalogue, and Michalis Katzourakis for the unique Award trophy. We also extend our gratitude to the Benaki Museum, now the home of the HIA, for its continued support.